Monthly Archives: May 2011

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Starting June 1, KLRU offers a new channel on 18.4. Vme, from the Spanish veme meaning “see me,” is a 24-hour digital broadcast service that is the fastest-growing Hispanic TV network in the U.S. Rescan your television after 6 a.m. June 1 to find this new alternative to traditional Spanish-language media.

Smart, engaging and empowering entertainment for America’s Latino families, Vme presents original productions, specially-adapted public TV hits and programs exclusive to Vme in the United States. With news, documentaries, music, entertainment, kids shows and sport, you can get the daily schedule here.

Vme has made the promise to be Contigo to Hispanic families delivering drama, music, sports, news, current affairs, Latin cinema, food, lifestyle, nature and educational preschool content. The 24-hour Spanish network, partnered with public television stations, is currently available in more than 10 million Hispanic homes. Vme is the first venture of the media production and distribution company, Vme Media Inc. To find out more please visit vmetv.com

The National Memorial Day Concert at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Sunday and 9 p.m. Monday co-hosted by Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna features musical performers honoring the U.S. troops from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Based on Andrew Carroll’s bestseller “War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars” is a collection of personal correspondence that brings to life the deepest, most human side of war on American Experience at 8 p.m. Monday.

Carnegie Hall celebrates its 120th anniversary with a gala concert by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert on Great Performances at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Filmed over four years, Independent Lens “Garbage Dreams” at 9 p.m. Tuesday follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo.

To celebrate his 40th anniversary at the Metropolitan Opera, conductor James Levine’s life and work are the subject of a documentary on American Masters at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Graham Reynolds and a 10 piece orchestra perform a concerto and works from his new CD “Duke! Three Portraits of Ellington” on Arts In Context at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Emerging artists take the spotlight as part of AMOA¹s exhibition ³ New Art In Austin: 15 to Watch.² Arts In Context features the artist in this exhibit that are stretching the boundaries of contemporary art on Arts In Context at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Bluegrass is the order of the night as Steve Martin picks up his banjo with the Steep Canyon Rangers for new tunes in the old tradition, followed by young Texan Sarah Jarosz on Austin City Limits at 10 p.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Friday.

Civil Rights Leader Julian Bond talks about the changes in American society on Overheard with Evan Smith at 7 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Galveston Island at 7:30 p.m. Thursday looks at the city of Galveston from its history, culture and resiliency after Hurricane Ike.

Chet heads to Galveston to hit the beach and explore the history and food of Texas’s most historic island on The Daytripper at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Cool off with water features, big and small, on a preview of the Austin Pond Society tour on Central Texas Gardener at noon Saturday.

Singer/composer/bass prodigy Esperanza Spalding debuts on ACL with a mix of jazz and soul and contemporary torch singer Madeleine Peyroux follows on Austin City Limits at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Contest is now over. Congratulations to our winners! Winners will receive an email with details about how to pick up their tickets.

Thomas & Friends are coming to Austin and The Long Center has given KLRU some tickets to give to our viewers. Post a comment on this blog entry for your opportunity to get four tickets to the 7 p.m. show on Wednesday, June 1. We will randomly choose winners on Tuesday, May 31.

Thomas Saves the Day
Wednesday, June 1 at 7:00PM
Thursday, June 2 at 10:30AM and 7:00PM
PEEP PEEP! Climb on board with Thomas & Friends for the most spectacular live show of the year! THOMAS & FRIENDS™ Live! On Stage in “Thomas Saves the Day” is a story for the whole family, teaching life lessons of discovery, friendship and cooperation. Join Thomas, Percy, Sir Topham Hatt and friends as they work together to save the Magic Lantern Festival, embarking upon fun and adventure on the magical island of Sodor.

KLRU is honored to be chosen as the non-profit to receive funds raised at this year’s Austin Asian Occasion.

Experience the Romance and the Spirit of Emperor Genghis Khan with the “Super Orient Courser” musicians from Mongolia along with talented Austin artists on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 7pm (pre-show begins at 6:30 pm) at The Long Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are $10, for ticket information, please visit www.thelongcenter.org or call (512) 474-5664

The Super Orient Courser from Mongolia has performed at the Beijing Olympic and at the State Banquet for President Obama during his State Visit to China in 2009. It’s been said that their special musical instrument, The Morin Khurr, aka Horse Head Fiddle was able to make the camels cry.

Each month, KLRU chooses a program for your family to enjoy together. This month’s Family Choice program is:
Nature “Underdogs”
Sunday, June 5, at 7 p.m.

Two pure-bred dogs are selected from animal shelters and adoption centers in
the U.S. and England — a Bearded Collie (sheep herding) and a Bloodhound (scent tracking). With the help of trainers, they are each taught to hone their skills as working dogs, then tested, to judge their success. By the end of the film each dog will have a new home.

Join KLRU as an audience member for Civic Summit: U.S. Senate Forum on Wednesday, June 8th in KLRU’s Studio 6A. The forum begins at 7 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm). The taping will take approximately one hour and will be followed by an audience question and answer with the participants. Attendance is free. Please RSVP here

Civic Summit: U.S. Senate Forum is a moderated conversation with the five leading G.O.P. politicians on the issues facing the 2012 U.S. Senate Race: Ted Cruz, Elizabeth Ames Jones, Tom Leppert, Michael Williams and Roger Williams. Discussions will include the failed Texas budget, foreign policy, health care reform and other issues. As the campaign starts to heat up find out how do these potential candidates distinguish themselves from each other and how they view Texas versus the Feds. Moderated by Evan Smith, this is a co-production between KLRU and Texas Tribune.

Civic Summit is KLRU’s program for discourse on public affairs issues.

On Nature at 7 p.m. Sunday, Bear biologist Chris Morgan travels to the far north of Alaska to join local hunters facing some of the same challenges as the bears on “Bears of the Last Frontier: Arctic Wonders”.

On Masterpiece Mystery! At 8 p.m. Sunday, David Suchet (Henry VIII, The Way We Live Now) stars as suave Belgian super sleuth Hercule Poirot in this mystery based on the novels by Agatha Christie “Poirot X: Murder on the Orient Express”.

Rock and pop legends Jon “Bowzer” Bauman and Ronnie Spector bring back the best songs from the late 1950s and early 1960’s rock, pop and doo wop era in the all new My Music concert event “Rock, Pop and Doo Wop” at 8 p.m. Monday.

Explore the ways many craft artists go beyond skill to personal and political expression by using art to tell a story, prove a point or bring attention to contemporary issues on Craft in America at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Independent Lens at 9 p.m. Tuesday presents “Welcome to Shelbyville”, a film capturing the complexity of the African American, Latino, White and Somali subjects as their lives intertwine against the backdrop of a crumbling economy and the election of a new president.

Secrets of the Dead: Lost Ships of Rome at 7 p.m. Wednesday follows a team of marine archaeologists as they explore wreck sites of five ancient Roman ships in a detailed attempt to salvage artifacts and piece together the history of the ships and why they were lost at Ventotene 2,000 years ago.

Nova at 8 p.m. Wednesday presents “Secrets of the Parthenon” the inside story of the official restoration of the ancient Greek temple to Athena, which reaches far beyond the challenges and controversies of conserving one of the world’s best-known buildings.

Narrated by Robert Redford, Mystery of Chaco Canyon at 9 p.m. Wednesday explores one of the most elaborate and mysterious of ancient Native-American ruins and presents substantial evidence that the Chacoan people expressed a complex solar and lunar cosmology in their magnificent architecture.

Sarah McLachlan graces the Austin City Limits stage in support of her greatest hits set, Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan, while British rising star Duffy follows with grooving pop soul at 10 p.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Friday.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. talks about politics on Overheard with Evan Smith at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Graham Reynolds and a 10 piece orchestra perform a concerto and works from his new CD “Duke! Three Portraits of Ellington” on Arts in Context at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Join Chet Garner as he travels to Beaumont, Texas to experience Texas cajun culture at its finest, the city‘s rich oil history, and a paddling ride down Village Creek on The Daytripper at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Bring on the heat with hot combinations for sun and shade on Central Texas Gardener at noon Saturday.

Bluegrass is the order of the night as Steve Martin picks up his banjo with the Steep Canyon Rangers for new tunes in the old tradition, followed by young Texan Sarah Jarosz on Austin City Limits at 7 p.m. Saturday.

On Nature at 7 p.m. Sunday, Bear biologist Chris Morgan explores the world of black bears caught in the crossroads of urban development in Anchorage and the wilderness on “Bears of the Last Frontier: The Road North”.

Masterpiece Classic at 8 p.m. Sunday presents part three of “South Riding“, the story of a lively heroine in Depression-era Yorkshire who attempts to shake up education at a school for girls.

Storm That Swept Mexico at 9 p.m. Sunday looks at the complex historical, social, political, economic and cultural forces that shaped the Mexican Revolution, influenced its course, and determined its consequences and legacy.

Freedom Riders: American Experience at 8 p.m. Monday chronicles the courageous band of civil-rights activists who risked their lives for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South in 1961.

Austin’s spoken word performers take center stage as part of KLRU’s focus on the arts on In Context Presents: Spoken 4 All at 10 p.m. Monday.

Secrets Of The Dead: The World’s Biggest Bomb at 7 p.m. Tuesday presents the story of the dangerous race between the United States and the Soviet Union to build the world’s biggest bomb in the 1950s.

Independent Lens at 9 p.m. Tuesday presents “Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo,” a documentary that explores the history of Japan’s love affair with bugs and uncovers Japanese philosophies that will shift viewers’ perspectives on nature, beauty and life.

You Don’t Know Jack Soo at 10 p.m. Tuesday and 7:30 p.m. Thursday tells the story of a pioneering American entertainer, Jack Soo, an Oakland native who became the first Asian American to be cast in the lead role in a regular television series.

Secrets Of The Dead: The Silver Pharaoh at 7 p.m. Wednesday reveals political intrigue, a lost city and a leader who united a country in turmoil and became the Silver Pharaoh.

Nova at 8 p.m. Wednesday carries out eye-opening experiments that reveal the techniques and incredible labor invested in the carving of the Great Sphinx and also unearths new discoveries about who and why the people created such a haunting and stupendous image on “Riddles of the Sphinx”.

Nova at 9 p.m. Wednesday follows a team of archeologists and boat builders as they reconstruct a mighty vessel depicted on ancient Egyptian walls and launch in to the Red Sea on a unique voyage of discovery on “Building Pharaoh’s Ship”.

Grammy-winning soul singer John Legend performs a set of 70s soul covers and originals backed by innovative hip-hop collective The Roots on Austin City Limits at 10 p.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Friday.

Join Chet Garner as he travels to Lockhart, Texas to conquer all four of the local Que joints in the BBQ capitol of Texas on The Daytripper at 8 p.m. Thursday. Next up, Chet travels to Wimberley to experience glass blowing, homemade tamales, a hike up Mt. Baldy and a dip in Blue Hole on The Daytripper at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Bright ideas for the shady areas of your garden on Central Texas Gardener at noon Saturday.

Sarah McLachlan graces the Austin City Limits stage in support of her greatest hits set, Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan, while British rising star Duffy follows with grooving pop soul at 7 p.m. Saturday.